Veteran singer S Janaki is no more. She died in Mysuru on July 11. She was 88. The family confirmed the news and released a statement on social media, much to the shock of fans and the film industry. Janaki is a legend in South cinema, known as the Nightingale of the South and fondly called ‘Janaki amma’.
Family confirms S Janaki no more
As news broke of Janaki’s death on Saturday, her granddaughter, Apsara Vydula, confirmed the news on her Instagram. She wrote, “Dear everyone, It is with profound sadness that I share the passing of my beloved grandmother and legendary singer, Smt. S. Janaki. She left us peacefully, surrounded by the love of her family. While our hearts are heavy, we are also filled with gratitude for the extraordinary life she lived and the immeasurable joy she brought to millions through her timeless music.”
Remembering her grandmother with fondness and requesting privacy, she added, “To the world, she was an iconic voice whose songs became part of countless memories. To us, she was a loving grandmother whose warmth, humility, kindness, and grace will remain with us forever. We kindly request that you respect our family’s privacy during this difficult time as we grieve and come to terms with this loss. Thank you for your love, prayers, and understanding. Apsara Vydyula.”
S Janaki’s legacy
Sistla Janaki was born on 23 April 1938 in Pallapatla, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Sreeramamurthy, was an Ayurvedic practitioner and teacher. She spent most of her childhood in Sircilla, where she had her first on-stage performance opportunity at age 9. Though never formally trained in classical music, she learnt the basics from Nadaswaram vidwan Paidiswamy.
In her 20s, Janaki moved to Chennai on her uncle’s advice to work as a singer with the music composer R Sudarsanam at AVM Studios. Her first song was for the Tamil movie Vidhiyin Vilayattu in 1957, and later for the Telugu film M.L.A. Since then, Janaku sang in 20 Indian languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, and Konkani, as well as in foreign languages such as English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala. She received numerous awards throughout her career, including 4 National Film Awards and 33 different State Film Awards.
In 1959, she married V Ramprasad, who encouraged her to pursue her career. He died in 1997 from a cardiac arrest. The singer has a son, Murali Krishna, who died in January this year.